Alcademics

These are seven newish drink books that have arrived at Alcademics HQ for your consideration. Most of the below descriptions come from the book blurbs and are not reviews, as I'm about 30 books behind on my reading list. 

Nicholas Faith's Guide to Cognac by Nicholas Faith

(Not sure why this book is so expensive on Amazon; it's only 132 pages. The Kindle version appears to be free.)

Nicholas Faith’s Guide to Cognac is a directory supplement to Nicholas’s best-selling book Cognac: The story of the world’s greatest brandy.

Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes by Jennifer McLagan 

Note: This is primarily a food book, though there are just a few drink recipes and Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe for tonic water syrup. There are also food recipes with bitter cocktail ingredients, including Fernet-Branca Chicken Livers.

In this deep and fascinating exploration of bitter through science, culture, history, and 100 deliciously idiosyncratic recipes—like Cardoon Beef Tagine, White Asparagus with Blood Orange Sauce, and Campari Granita—award-winning author Jennifer McLagan makes a case for this misunderstood flavor and explains how adding a touch of bitter to a dish creates an exciting taste dimension that will bring your cooking to life.

Sake Confidential: A Beyond-the-Basics Guide to Understanding, Tasting, Selection, and Enjoyment by John Gauntner 

Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers. Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes:

• Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality
• How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing
• The Brewer’s Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers’ guilds, grading

Alchemy in a Glass: The Essential Guide to Handcrafted Cocktails by Greg Seider

Drawing on his experience developing cocktail programs for chefs such as Eric Ripert, Seider goes beyond recipes to show readers how flavors work, giving them blueprints for constructing a balanced drink. Seider shares inspired recipes for more than fifty original cocktails as well as classics with a twist and recipes for bitters, garnishes, infusions, and elixirs. 

WineWise, Second Edition by Steven Kolpan, Michael A Weiss, Brian H Smith 

This new edition of the essential consumer guide to wine features all the most current information for today’s wine landscape. The authors, longtime wine educators at The Culinary Institute of America, have added all the latest and most relevant information to their award-winning book, including new picks for the best regional producers, off-the-beaten-path finds, and bargain bottles. With a practical, anti-snob attitude, the emphasis is always on enjoying wine to the fullest in real-world scenarios and getting the best value for your dollar, whether splurging on a special-occasion bottle or deciding on your own “house” wine. All the basics are covered, including the major wine grapes, flavor profiles, and decoding labels, plus up-to-date information on established and up-and-coming regions, advice on pairing wine.

Shrubs: An Old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times by Michael Dietsch 

The history of shrubs, as revealed here, is as fascinating as the drinks are refreshing. These sharp and tangy infusions are simple to make and use, as you’ll discover with these recipes. Mix up some Red Currant Shrub for a Vermouth Cassis, or Apple Cinnamon Shrub to mix with seltzer, or develop your own with Michael Dietsch’s directions and step-by-step photographs.

GQ Drinks by Paul Henderson

The anticipated follow-up to GQ Eats, this ultimate drinks book features creations from bar legends such as Salvatore Calabrese as well as innovative mixes from new talent from the UK's best bars. As well as over 120 recipes for classic and cutting-edge cocktails, you will also find inside tips such as which are the best brands to use for the perfect G+T. A special section on hardware covers the glasses to use and the shakers that are worth spending money on.

Out: November 4, 2014